Top 5 Weekend Picks

November 13, 2025

In partnership with

Hey Capital Region! Today we’ve got a new and improved Thursday edition of The 518, featuring our Top 5 Weekend Picks and all of the other awesome events you need to know (but sans Talk of the Town & the Capital Digest). It’s just events on Thursdays now 🙌

Let us know what you think of this new format!

—Phat X. Chiem & Karley Sullivan

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Your search for the absolute best wings in town ends here: Capital Region Wing Wars 20

⭐️ 🍗 Billed as the area’s largest wing competition, Capital Region Wing Wars 20 goes down at the Franklin Terrace Ballroom in Troy. No matter who gets crowned as the champ, you’re in for a tasty, finger-lickin’ evening. Tix are going fast though. Sat, 5p, $50.

⭐️ 🧶 Find thousands of handmade items at the Hudson-Mohawk Weaver’s Guild’s Show & Sale, known as one of the Capital Region’s most popular handicraft exhibitions. There will also be plenty of weaving and spinning demonstrations. Another highlight: The 200-year landmark that is Pat’s Barn. Fri-Sun, free.

Also, the 3rd Annual Sip & Shop Handmade Arts, Crafts & Vendor Fair is in Clifton Park on Saturday, and the Vendor & Craft Fair is at the Franklin Terrace Ballroom.

⭐️ 🏈 Union College vs. RPI is the college competition that keeps on giving. Saturday's game in Schenectady is the 122nd meeting between these two teams, considered to be New York’s oldest college football rivalry. Best of all, online tix are just $5. Sat, 1 pm.

⭐️ 🎤 The Femininomenon Sing-A-Long’s One Year Anniversary show features live performances of female-powered hits from the likes of Sydney Worthley, Aila Chiar, Julia Alsarraf, Hayley Stafford, and DJ Fearless. These sing-a-longs at the Lost & Found Bar & Kitchen are always super fun affairs. Did we mention it’s free? Fri, 9:30-11:30p, free.

⭐️ 🌿 Wild Ones Native Plant Celebration & Seed Swap | This free, family-friendly seed swap at the Thacher State Park Visitors Center celebrates the beauty of New York’s native plants. Connect with fellow gardeners, share your favorite local seeds, and discover new varieties to cultivate for a more vibrant, resilient, and biodiverse garden. Sat, 11a-2p, free.

Honorable mention: The New York State Writers Institute’s annual symposium on politics—Telling the Truth—is needed more than ever. Titled “Telling the Truth in a Post-Truth World,” the event features two panels: “Rethinking American Politics,” about finding common ground in an age of polarization; and “Standing on Principles,” about reviving the foundational principles of American society, both moral and legal. Fri, 5:30p & 7:30p, free.

FRIDAY

🖼️ The Albany Institute of History & Art hosts An Artful Evening, a festive cocktail party with a silent auction and open bar. We love the AIHA, so mixing in cocktails makes it all the better.

🚣‍♂️ Reflections on Waterways is a symposium which revisits the various celebratory performances done along the route of the Erie Canal commemorating the 200th anniversary of the waterway.

💎 Wolf Hollow Brewing Company invites you to the Jade Boss Permanent Jewelry Pop-up.

🗣️ Opalka Gallery puts on one of its regular PechaKucha Nights. Come for fast-paced presentations on a variety of interesting topics. Plus, the dudes from Druthers are manning the bar.

🎭️ “The Unopened Door—A Whimsical Tale For Grownups” at the Arts Center of the Capital Region uses narrative myth, adventure and shared storytelling to explore the ways in which “we see the world not as it is, but as we are.” Through Nov. 22.

SATURDAY 

🕹️ Gamer Girl is a first-of-its-kind event in the Capital Region designed to empower women and girls to connect, learn, and lead in tech and gaming. Hope you grabbed tix already because the event is SOLD OUT.

🍁 The Arts Center of the Capital Region puts on its Fall Fest 2025, featuring pumpkin painting, live music, raffles, and more.

🎸 TrueSongs, a beloved annual Caffè Lena event, turns lived experience into art, pairing local residents with songwriters and storytellers to illuminate the work of nonprofits shaping a stronger, more compassionate community.

🎅 It’s that time again. Santa's Playland 2025 at Quick Response returns for the holiday season.

🎬️ Break ꩜ut Symposium 2025 at EMPAC brings together filmmakers, writers, critics, and curious minds to think together about the evolving shape of documentary.

👗Sand Lake Town Library in Averill Park hosts the Women's Clothing Swap.

💧 Tired of trash? Join Riverkeeper and NATURE Lab to celebrate the sixth season of Water Justice Lab, which includes a screening of “The Story of Plastic” and Q&A panel.

🥘 Chop Chop: Cooking the Food of Nigeria with Ozoz Sokoh presents an immersive evening of West African culture with Nigerian-born culinary anthropologist and author Ozoz Sokoh, in conversation with WAMC’s Sarah LaDuke, at SPAC.

✍️ Meet Elisabeth Paling Funk, author of "The Dutch World of Washington Irving," for a talk, reception & book signing in the Ten Broeck Mansion.

🛼The All Stars Roller Derby is back at The Albany Armory!

👩‍🎨 The Albany Institute of History & Art invites you to Curator Talk: Dows Dunham and the Archaeology of Egypt and Sudan.

🚚 The Capital District Regional Market is hosting Trucks & Turkeys at the Market at the Menands Market Pavilion, featuring face painting, big trucks, and live music.

SUNDAY

🏳️‍🌈 A Big Gay Market goes indoors for the season.

🦎 After three back-to-back sold out winter shows, the Saratoga Reptile Show is back.

🎙️ Join the Albany District (NY) Chapter of The Links, Incorporated for an enchanting afternoon with mezzo-soprano Savannah Gordon, a Capital Region native. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Albany District (NY) Chapter's Classics Through the Ages program which supports talented students who study classical music.

🎻 Friends of Chamber Music presents Quatuor Agate showcasing works by Mozart, Ravel and Anna Korsun. At 2:30p, meet the artists for a pre-concert chat, followed by the concert and reception.

THEATER

Siena University’s Theatre Department presents Neil Simon’s farcical play “Rumors,” starting Thursday and running through Nov. 22. Tix are only $5-$15.

ART ON VIEW:

SAVE THE DATES:

🖼️ Albany Center Gallery Speakeasy Gala is Nov. 22 at Common Roots Brewing Albany Outpost.

☕️ The Downtown Albany Hot Chocolate Stroll returns Saturday, Dec. 6.

Our music listings are now published separately on The 518 website. Click here.

GET YOUR EVENT ON THE LIST 🎸

Our rolling deadline is the Saturday before your event!

 💌 GET IN TOUCH!

Got an awesome business, event or personality we should feature? Let us know! Contact: [email protected]

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